Week in Review
City Council, Monday, June 16
Chair Election
Mayor Pro Tem Paladino was absent, leaving us with a bleak vision of our future Council.
City Clerk Katy Price: “Is there a motion. . . of a Council member to be a Chair for the meeting?”
Bentley: “I move that Councilman Flynn moves to the Chair and holds the gavel today.”
All in favor.
Road Diet
Road Diet Public Comment
N.b., In a vain attempt to make sense of Councilman Bentley’s spasmodic rant(s) he delivered throughout the evening, we took the liberty of trying to reorganize his comments so that the dialogue of the meeting might be coherent to the reader.
Josiah Lippincott: “I am here to speak in opposition to the Road Diet plan. My primary concern is that money is fungible. . . A dollar is a dollar is a dollar. . . I look at the crime we have in the town—we have a real problem with homelessness; we have a real problem with crumbling infrastructure. We have issues that I see on a daily basis that are not being resolved. And then we see things that are completely extraneous.”
Paul Rahe: “If you adopt this, what you’re doing is taking something that works tolerably well, and you’re making it a whole lot worse. And I can’t see why the Road Diet will do any good for this City. . . This is not only a waste of money; it will do damage.”
Luke Robson, coming to play: “Councilman Bentley in particular has stated that the process leading up to this was not politically legitimate. I think that’s unfair at best. . . The Road Diet is not a new issue, and it has not been hidden from anyone. . . The only time it has become an issue is now, after the election of Councilman Bentley. In November of ‘24, Councilman Bentley was elected, and it seems that prior to ‘24 Councilman Bentley was simply not paying attention to local politics.” On the Diet itself: “The Road Diet would be good for Hillsdale. It would benefit residents, business, and vehicles passing through downtown.”
Bentley, later on, in response: “What I mean by political legitimacy is that the Staff has been hiding the ball, certainly for the last six months.” On the lack of general public knowledge of the impending Road Diet, which Flynn and Bentley both said they knew nothing about prior to their elections last November: “If you expect the median citizen of Hillsdale to be more informed than Bob Flynn, you’re mistaken.”1
Eric Moore, commenting on the following passage from Bentley’s Hillsdalian op ed: “They did not request to have the major artery through town arbitrarily constricted for the imagined benefit of an arrogant few who mean to impose their vision of a bright, beautiful, boutique future, regardless of the lives of the actual current residents of the Hillsdale area.” Moore:
“I am not concerned about semi trucks taking more time to pass through our City.”
“When referring to the ‘arrogant few,’ not sure who he’s referring to. . . Am I one of these arrogant few? To me, arrogance is believing in your point of view in exclusion of validated examples of municipalities that implemented successful Road Diets.”2
“Matt Bentley has the audacity to think that somehow it cannot work in Hillsdale. Now remind me: Who is the arrogant one?”
Bentley, later on, in response: “I find it interesting that Mr. Robson did not voice his objection to my use of the word ‘arrogant,’ but Mr. Moore took great offense at it. But I would only say, ‘If the shoe fits.’”
Adam Bentley: “The Road Castration that the State of Michigan implemented in Ann Arbor has served only to make its transit extremely unpleasant. . . The real reason we are considering bike lanes is that MDOT won’t give us a TAP Grant without it.” On the broader issue: “This Council has been neglecting to act on behalf of the will of the people. This is a tragedy for the City.”
John Novak: “I’ve been in logistics for about 20 years. . . It surprises me that you guys have been working on this for over a decade, and you’re basing it on terrible statistics. When I was looking up MDOT’s official statistics, I found that the volumes are just too high for a two-lane road.”3
“Have you guys ever ridden a bike on the side of an 18-wheeler?. . . You’re adding more risk, not less. You’re not slowing traffic; you’re stopping traffic.”
“I actually think this Road Diet could be a good thing, but you’ve got to get a way for the commercial traffic to go around town.”
“The study was done on December 20th. So right before Christmas, really? So traffic’s at its lowest.”
Joshua Mincio: “While all aspects of the Road Diet might not be perfect, we are in favor of it. . . Talking to my customers, they’re also in favor of it.”
Jeff Fazekas: “It’s $200,000 we could put towards the roads. Everybody says, ‘the roads, the roads, the roads.’ We continue to put money towards other projects, and we don’t do the roads.”
Steve Vear: “I don’t think it’s going to really slow traffic down. . . I think the money could be used on local roads in the area, rather than on Broad Street.”
Mary Wolfram: “I’m involved in the Dawn Theater. So my concern about Broad Street is just how busy and dangerous and noisy it is in front of the Dawn Theater. I drive there a lot. . . The Road Diet—I’m in favor of it.”
Bentley, on the History of Broad Street: “MDOT’s going to do what MDOT does. . . It will remain a truck route and a Michigan highway.”
Scott Sessions: “I am not totally convinced that the Road Diet is completely safe.”
Isaac Kirshner: “There’s contentious issues, then there’s 80-20 issues. Things like deportation, keeping men out of women’s sports—these things which are entirely popular across a constituency. And the Road Diet has brought strange bedfellows together against it.”
Jeffrey O’Niell: “When I heard that the City was planning on adding bike lanes, my mind went straight to the one-week fair.”
Jill Hardway: “Who is going to pay for this? The taxpayers? Because we can’t pay for the roads.”
“I’m also looking at a very noticeable absence this evening in Mr. Paladino. I think it’s a little ironic that he isn’t here tonight for this very very important vote.”
“I did walk the sidewalks in Coldwater, and of all the people I spoke with face-to-face, none of them are happy with the Road Diet in downtown Coldwater.”
Bentley: “Surprise: the people who benefit from it say they like it. The people don’t like it.”
CJ Toncray: “MDOT said that they could not lower the speed limit. . . Why can they not lower the speed limit?”
Jack McClain: “I wish that Council members on this [right] side would. . . actually speak into the mics like they’re supposed to.”
Richard Smith: “I’ve talked with my neighbors, and all of them say, ‘Road Diet’? What’s that? Is that some kind of a Japanese thing?”
Zech Steiger, contra Diet: “I hope. . . you will fulfill your obligation as elected representation of the people.”
Nick LoPresto: “The trucks are not going to like coming through there. . . We talk about growth; this, if anything, is stopping growth.”
Road Diet Council Discussion
Councilman Bruns: “One of my big hangups on this is the funding. . . Is there no other fund that we can pull from to pay the City’s share?”
City Manager Mackie: “It has to come out of our Capital Improvement Fund. . . Some of it might come out of Roads.”
Bruns: “My understanding is that we’re splitting it 50-50 with TIFA. . . Is that right?”
Mackie: “That has been a proposal that is out there. . . But I’ve also heard that TIFA is not in a position to fund their half. . . It’s about $200,000 that our share would be.”
Bruns: “I can’t go for this myself until that’s resolved. I would be very hesitant to spend money out of the Capital Improvement Fund, and if TIFA’s money is up in the air, that makes me even more concerned about it.”
Bentley, getting warmed up: “It’s coming out of our Road Funds. What? That’s incredible.”
On the lack of details provided: “There’s nothing again in our packet for the second meeting in a row.”
On the Alan Beeker’s notable absence: “Mr. Beeker is not here. Why is Mr. Beeker not here?. . . It appears to me that Mr. Beeker has been the quarterback the whole time, and has been the decider—maybe the only decider in our whole town. It seems to be just Mr. Beeker. And for the second crucial meeting in a row. . . Mr. Beeker’s not here.”
Councilman Gerg, emoting: “The MDOT meeting we had last week. . . I thought it was very well done. I thought the cards took all the emotions out. . . There’s a lot of misunderstanding, it’s obvious. . . We’re getting lost in a lot of emotions.”4
Bentley again, on Council’s prior discussion of the public meeting as compared to the subsequent meeting: “The meeting that actually happened on Thursday bore no resemblance to our discussion.”
On his intentions: “Spoiler: what I’m going for here is to delay the vote.”
On possibly arbitrary deadlines?: “We’ve been told a number of times that the deadline was June 30, and then at the Thursday meeting with the written cards, somebody asked, ‘Why is the deadline June 30?’ MDOT had no idea what that was about. Is it a lie? It seems like a lie. We were told that’s why we had to rush the Thursday meeting. . . and we had to rush this vote. I believe, Manager Mackie, maybe you would like to concede the fact that there is no June 30th deadline?”
Mackie, with his all-too-common answer: “I don’t have an answer to your question.”
Gerg, triggered: “Is this a filibuster? Let’s get to a point. Let’s move on. Let’s get to a point.”
Bentley: “A filibuster lacks content. I’m trying to get some content.”5
In a very surprising but thus-far ignored moment, Jason Blake, DPS Director, said the Road Diet will likely raise the speed limit on Broad Street—we thought we heard up to 45 or 50 miles per hour. . .?
Bentley motioned to table the resolution until a later date; seconded by Bruns. The motion failed, 3-4, with Bentley, Bruns, and Flynn in favor. Council continued:
Councilman Socha, entering stage right:
On a recent experience: “I almost hit a man getting out of his car right in front of St. Anthony’s. . . He stared at me as if I was in the wrong, which I find incredulous.”
On his voting history: “I voted to keep people from sleeping in our public spaces.”
On listing to the people: “I have to take into consideration: two of my neighbors on Broad Street are opposed to [the Road Diet].”
On SADs:“I don’t like the idea of $200,000 coming out of the General Fund when we have Special Assessments. . . some of the arguments here have not persuaded me. But I guess they have persuaded me. . . I can’t spend $200,000 out of the City’s funds. Not when the road’s going to get repaved for free.”
Musing on the Culture: “It shocks me at how selfish we are as a culture, where we’re worried about 30 seconds. . . We just have this fast food, do-it-my-way culture.”
On the slim possibility of TIFA coughing up money: “The TIFA Board would have to vote to appropriate the funds.”
Gerg, Decorous: “Like Mr. Socha said, he almost killed a man. And I believe if he would have, his vote would have been different tonight.”6
Councilman Morrisey: “I was leaning against it. . . but the statistics are pretty firm.”
Councilman Jogger, on the tourists: “It’ll improve the people shopping.”7
Councilman Flynn, on how the ordinary driving experience of being cut off convinced him to vote for the Road Diet: “I had no idea how I was going to vote on this until 2:00 this afternoon, when I about did the one thing a car salesman should never ever do: and that’s totally destroy a brand spankin’ new 2025 car.”
On how the people will get over it: “Does it make sense from Bacon to Steamburg? Absolutely not. I want to apologize to those who live there. . . It may not seem the smart thing to do today. . . Are you going to be mad about it? Yep. . . Do we need to take $200,000 out of our General Fund? Yep.”
Gerg motioned to approve the Diet. Morrisey, Gerg, Wolfram, Flynn in favor; Socha (!), Bentley, Bruns opposed.
Public Comment, later
Robson: “Hillsdale Renaissance, as a show of good faith to the City, will be making a donation. . . to the City to make the Road Diet feasible.”
Toby, back in the game: “I am pleased that you decided to approve the Road Diet.”8
Joseph Hendee: “The $200,000 for the project would be better spent in improving residential streets first.”
Lance Lashaway: “Matt. . . I don’t think I’ve heard anybody speak for the people the way you have here.”
Following this decision on the part of Council, and the disjointed effort to oppose it, it is high time to confront one of the governing truisms of Hillsdale politics: Town & Gown Theory. This dominant framework posits that there are, in the city, two competing cities: that of Hillsdale “townies,” and that of Hillsdale College and associates. We reject this theory—at least in the most decisive political respects—and posit a counter of which we have spoken before: the dwindling city of the People and the burgeoning city of the Developmental Mind.
To advance our argument in good faith, we readily cede that there is in general a cultural and economic chasm that lends credence to Town and Gown Theory. Rotting factories and run-down properties abound while four-star restaurants are erected up the hill. It’s a difficult contrast to stomach, no doubt about it. But the overemphasis put on these species of division ignores the elementary political things that could be of benefit to all, or nearly all—things that Mr. Kirshner above spoke of as “80-20 issues.” We can think of five such examples off the top of our heads: eliminating SADs, limiting special tax break favors, spending less at the Airport, lowering (or at least not raising) property taxes, and restoring some semblance of a justice system. There are surely others.
As for the Developmental Mind, well, it’s true enough that some seem to financially benefit from Airport expansion, from SADs, from Three Meadows, and from replacing justice with therapy. Yet its claim to authority and control over your money and future rests on more than mere financial incentive, but also a theory of their own competence: Win-Win Theory, the method by which our rulers—and they alone!—allegedly breed wins to produce future wins.9 Winning for its own sake, if you will.10 If you were to listen to these Arrogant Few, you would think that Hillsdale County has never lost, and that its municipal governments have brought a veritable paradise of victory to earth at this very spot. Of course, the beneficiaries (and the benefits) of said victories always remain vague, and the experience of the ordinary citizen (Loser!) interacting with his government nowhere enters the utopian calculus.
At the same time, the People are divided along superficial battle lines, the bases of which is Town & Gown Theory. But how has the theory acquired such force? Aside from the pithy rhyme, it is the result of, and reinforces, political constipation—fear of Negativity. It spreads by internet gossip, hearsay which several Facebook warriors spread—unwittingly or not—on behalf of the current managerial class to divide their would-be opposition. The theories of these intellectuals (a rather generous word to use here11) creeps into public discourse and public behavior, and carves up the People into squabbling subgroups, rendering them neurotic and demoralized.
So the Developmental Mind shatters and conquers piecemeal the People via its control over the levers of power and opinion-generation. In particular, the most performative types—like Councilman Flynn, who pours corn syrup into the ears of the people while voting against their express wishes—tend to be of this persuasion, telling the People that they only need to Squirrel Away a little more in order to capture the Bright and Beautiful Future; the Developmental Future, a future of decisions in which the People have only a nominal part to play.
External Links
“Now we are told that there is no ability to make changes and no more time—though MDOT repudiated staff’s timeline: there is no deadline looming. The repaving will begin in 2027.” Matthew Bentley.
“The reason that we are pursuing it is because it was something that came out of a study that was encouraged by the group that implemented the study.” Alan Beeker.
“The semis treat the speed limit like it's a suggestion. They go through here so fast that I had my window busted out from something bouncing off the truck because it hit a bump and it was going so fast.” Cindy Bieszk.12
“You see, when three out of five ‘Allegedly Republican’ county commissioners decide to shackle you with a $15.5 million bond for a new mental health building — in the face of public protest — they’re not ignoring your voice. They’re courageously saving you from the burden of having one.” Hillsdale Conservative Network.
“The sound of a TV exploding on the pavement helped mark a new phase of life for us.” Bishop James D. Conley.
Has it crossed anybody’s mind that perhaps this is a failure on the part of the Hillsdale Daily News, which instead of writing about political happenings posts clickbait about rainbow-tornadoes in Nebraska or the Michigan Lottery?
Mr. Moore’s understanding of humility would transform Hillsdale into Coldwater, which is to say, nowhere. But hey, we hear they’ve got good hummus.
A comment to which the Council Calmers failed to respond.
The “misunderstandings” are so obvious to Gerg that he can’t even bother to explain them.
You don’t say?
Gerg, who often runs his mouth about Decency and Decorum, has lately been by far the nastiest and pettiest on Council. If the shoe fits, as some say.
Is Jogger also a Cyclist?
While Lovinger provided a nice changeup when he scolded Council at the prior meeting, it just isn’t the same without our Toby.
Like the Multiplier Effect—it all fits together!
Consider how courts, for instance can promote Negative Culture by punishing criminals rather than the alleged Win-Win that is time with a social worker.
Though rumor has it some of them type upwards of 100 words per minute!
From the same: “Would be nice to just have things slower and quieter so that people could enjoy sitting outside. . . It's a little too fast.” Josh Mincio.
Mr. Stuchell’s snipe at Mr. Socha was beyond the pale. It would be good for him to offer a public apology at the next council meeting.
My "spasmodic rant(s)" notwithstanding, the vote should have been tabled for the following reasons:
• the conspicuous absences of Messrs Beeker and Paladino;
• the number and magnitude of outstanding questions;
• the allegations of malfeasance against Manager Mackie;
• the incipient public outcry;
• the rush toward a manufactured deadline.
I want to thank my supporters and other anti-Dieters who have struggled to get the word out and voiced their opposition to their elected representatives.
The fight continues.
https://mattthewhbentley.substack.com/
BentleyForHillsdale@gmail.com